


star of the sea

by abitchlikethis



Series: star of the sea [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-24 10:35:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20357053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abitchlikethis/pseuds/abitchlikethis
Summary: Marlene McKinnon had accepted her life as a fisherman's daughter, tied to her tiny seaside town. It wasn't until the infamous pirate captain, Blackstar, crossed her path did she realize that everything could change. Their tale will spin far beyond the reaches of just a girl on a ship; there's magic in their blood, and their natural kinship from the moment they met will fuel dastardly deeds that only true pirates could understand.





	1. the beginning

It’s late when she finally got in from the pub, her skin soaked with sweat and the sour bite of rancid ale, clothes practically shedding smoke with every step she took. Weary limbs folded out of her stuffy dress, sliding under chilled sheets, a paradoxical warmth already resting on the other side of the bed. Fabian murmured something in his sleep, but otherwise didn’t stir, until Marlene sidled closer. Her head ducked into the nape of his neck with ease, and it is here that she tried to find her breath after the night that had unfolded.

( _Black hair hiding sparkling eyes that swirled like storms out at sea. The alluring purr of something you don’t understand, gravity altering as time stopped altogether. A passing touch leaves your hand burning, burning, burning, two souls alit with the power to burn; everything or each other? Who knew. ‘Don’t you miss coming home?’ His ship is his shelter; the ocean was his home, had always been, lost to Her in all Her chaotic, beautiful inevitablity. Like the tide to the shore, no matter how far she wanders away, she always finds herself pulled back, the epic tales he tells when relieved of her presence only drawing her closer, again and again._ )

Fabian finally rustled awake from the hot puffs against his neck, and a smile unfurled over his features as he took her in his grasp. It used to feel soothing; for years it had, her betrothed her only anchor in this sad little seaside town. Her father’s arrangements had been fair, her job at the bar acceptable for a woman of her minimal stature. There was nothing to spare for a fisherman’s daughter, the beauty of her mother’s raven haired looks shrouding the hurricane of rage inherited from the men of her family. ‘The best he could do, all things considered.’ Fabian was a good man; a just man, a man who allowed her to live the very best life she could, despite the confines of everything else around her.

( _Everything is free at sea. He knows how to tantalize her, a riptide if she had ever felt one before. Dragging her toward the treacherous darkness that dwelled underneath his surface. Others have left the pub now, the night spinning dangerously close to dawn, and still, she’s by his side. It’s only them now, and she had a few drinks through her shift, but she’s absolutely inebriated on his words. The mastery of which his stories are told weave deep into her chest; painted pictures of the open water and its dangerous counterparts, the enigmatic creatures that emerge from the deep, the call to arms in the name of justice when faced with tyrants and thieves. You will always rule yourself. Marlene? He drawls around the smile of her name, and she sees galaxies erupt off his tongue. Star of the sea indeed, attracted to the waters her soul had already weathered, the tides it yearned to still bear. ‘It aches,” she says, “Everywhere. Always.” It’s Her, and she’s calling to you; there’s saltwater in your blood, driftwood in your bones. This is no life for you - no life for a maiden willing to swallow the world._ )

One chance. She gazed out of the window as dawn finally blasted like a cannonball across the sky, the horizon splattered pinks and oranges and yellows against the stark line of Her. Fabian’s asleep again, and maybe, she knew all along. The whole way home up the dirt path, the faithful daughter, dutifully going back to her gilded cage and imminent demise. Sad birds still sing, right? The stone floor was cold against her bare feet, and she’s silent as she manuevered around their humble abode, brown eyes trying to find any excuse to stay. There’s nothing here she would even take with her; the gaudy locket around her neck, a present of her engagement, slips from her collarbone and is laid delicately on her pillow. Nothing but a stolen shirt and worn pair of working pants over her slip as she tiptoed out of the house without another word; what was she to say? To leave a letter of excuses, placating him with goodbyes? Fabian didn’t need her reasons; he always knew she was one unlocked door away from flying free.

_The ship rocks ominously before her as she picks her way down the docks with practiced ease, careful to keep her head down. Word would get to her father soon; she had mere hours to make her decision, but it had been done the moment Marlene had first cast her glance upon Her as a child, always having been truly born from the sea. He sees her, the morning light bathing her path as she climbs aboard without hesitation. Standing before him, in his element, she’s humbled by the power he exudes against the background of Her. At one with Her chaos, at ease with Her severity, his own a force to be reckoned with._

“Will you show me? Freedom?”

“Oh, kitten - I’ll show you everything.”


	2. the blade

_There were a cacophany of rumors that Blackstar was a man birthed from belly of Hell itself, spat from the sea with a debt to pay to Her from the moment he was born. His dogs were bloodthirsty, his crew worse, and although his path for justice was riddled with vigilante heroism, the horror stories told of the pirate king on land had cast him to infamy. Sailors spewed their nightmares a shadow dog that would become a man, and that man was Blackstar, able to decimate entire armadas with his men alone in a single night. She had heard tales of when he had driven Spanish conquestadors from an island shore, the men who had witnessed his imminent destruction only able to whisper about the captain, with hair and eyes as black as cyclone, laughing among the burning wreckage of another ship falling apart all around him as his crew fled. He always returned from the sea; impossible to drown, even harder to kill. His existence struck fear in the hearts of evil kings and ruthless tyrants alike, no land nor sea vast enough to keep him from coming to collect his dues on behalf of Her._

Standing before him, she can imagine it all to be true - and yet, she doesn't care. In fact, she found herself enthralled.

"You've brought nothing with you, Marlene?" he asked, and her chin jutted high, realizing now that others were beginning to circle her, wary of the suspicious newcomer among their ranks. 

"I have nothing of value," she responded coolly, shooting a seething look over her shoulder when she heard someone mutter nearby, but the sound silenced itself. 

"Not even a blade?" 

"Nothing of value, sir. Just me," Marlene nodded, her voice a little meeker than she intended; she can feel his crew begin to advance on her, but Blackstar held a hand up at their movements, eyes sharp in unsaid reprimands. 

His gaze is on her again, blinking once before a smile cracked his lips open, beaming down at her as he descended the last of the stairs before he swiftly turned, stepping through an entrance beneath the sterncastle, intending on going deeper into the hull. "Follow me," he called over his shoulder, and she knew better than to wait around any longer in her present company, who were beginning to leer. Quickly, she joined him, only a stride behind as he led his new crew member towards the Captain's quarters. She crossed a burgundy curtained threshold to step into a rather adorable parlor room; it's quaint, not as extravagant as she would have assumed for a captain. She's so busy taking in her surroundings, she doesn't see Blackstar move deeper into his bedchambers, only noticing his absence when he re-emerges with a scabbard in hand, the blade attached to it delicate and lithe, a gossamer strand of weaponry. 

"From my personal collection," he smirked as he approached, and Marlene's voice caught in her throat as he tentatively passed her the sword, gratefulness lost as her eyes widened at what he had chosen to part with. It was light as a feather in her palms, but the barest curl of her hands, and she could feel the sharpness of the metal catch against her skin, snaring and drawing a droplet of blood. It was, in all honesty, a piece of art. 

"I can't accept this," she breathed out, still riveted by the sheer power of the weapon in her grasp, the deftness it would need to be handled with; it was wasted on her, they both had to know it.

"You said you brought nothing of value," Blackstar stepped closer, words clearly echoing her despite the sparkle of amusement in his own tone. Taunting her? "Yet, here you are," and Marlene can't help but finally meet his gaze, dazed immediately by the fervor of his words and how they matched the hardened expression on his face. Like he was trying to figure out what possibly made her feel unworthy; it had taken seconds after they met, and reinforced the moment she arrived on the dock, that she had been born for this life. The darkness swelled behind her eyes as well, like crests of waves out on the open water, waiting to swirl into a madness of disaster as soon as She wished it. 

"You have a lot to learn, kitten. My first lesson? _You're_ something of value, and not just as a member of this crew. On your own. I think there's more to you than even you know." 

Marlene fought not to snicker. He had no idea. 


	3. the plunder

Her first day aboard the ship was, in fact, a pleasant one. Smaller than the other men, she matched their condescending scoffs and hollers with a fierce determination. She was a fisherman's daughter, after all; this was not her first voyage, and soon, there was nothing to criticize. She could climb the ratlines with a weightlessness the others lacked, even shimmy up the mast to fetch extra lines or unknot a stray rope faster than a squirrel up a tree. Blackstar stayed up on the sterncastle by the helm, his first mate Petey stationed by his side. Sometimes, the hair on the back of her neck would stand, and Marlene would glance over her shoulder to find his gaze upon her back, unyielding in its intensity as always. However, whenever she turned to meet it, his jerked away, a smile playing on Marlene's lips for the rest of the day as she continued her duties. 

It was when the sun began to set across the horizon that a tumultuous evening of events occurred.

She's deep in the galley moving casks when the sounds of yelling from above grabbed her attention. She doesn't know what's happening; can hear the roar of Blackstar's voice before feet begin hammering in every direction, the ceiling above her sounding like it could shatter from their weight. Marlene set off in a dead run back towards top deck, and not a moment too soon; the underside of the ship exploded into a commotion of noise as men began loading the cannons, firing as soon as they can at the still unseen enemy.

Finally, her head popped out from the stairwell below deck, eyes finding the source of their troubles. An independent ship transporting merchant goods, it seemed; no other discernible markings or symbols on their sails to indicate a country or guild allegiance, which sadly, made them quite an easy target for pirates. She's rooted in her spot, just for a moment, as Marlene realized that this wasn't the courageous bravery he had described the night before. _Only taking from those who take too much. _She doesn't have much time to nitpick on motivations, however, when their ship gets close enough for their victims to turn musket barrels in their direction - of which, they eagerly take the opportunity. 

There's too many of the pirates though, and by the time Marlene's ducked her way across the lines and even set foot on the other ship, the battle seemed to be over, the merchants already surrendering - their goods, their lives, anything for Blackstar's mercy. His boots slap ominously against the hollow wood beneath him, striding across the deck as he surveyed the crowd, both new and old faces peering back at him expectantly. Marlene included. There's a scuffle, however, and a hundred pairs of eyes shoot upwards.

“Not so fast, coward!” Blackstar laughed as he jumped up and balanced on the ledge of the ship's deck gracefully, the movement causing Marlene's heart to lurch in her chest. He's so elegant in the madness, reaching up to scruff the smaller man and, with the assistance of some men surrounding him, they drag him from his escape up the ratlines to hide in the crow’s nest presumably. “A captain who abandons his crew in their time of need? Tsk tsk, I see now why She veered your pitiful existence onto my path. She will be glad to devour you,” Blackstar grabbed the rat line and swung down with ease, the momentum causing his feet to land with a dull thud as he regarded the man cowering at his feet. 

“The ocean demands a sacrifice for all gifts received. This is a pretty small bounty, considering you were quick to betray your crew, I imagine they’d much rather just join mine. Only one life needs to be given to Her today, and you just happens to be the lucky contender.”

His tone was layered with haughty pride, teetering closely toward a speech, but his eyes found Marlene’s, despite the rest of the bodies surrounding her. He kicked the man's side so he collapsed forward, hard on his side, the answering groan drowned out by Blackstar’s words gaining volume. She allowed herself to be lost in them too, his locked gaze on hers making her cheeks ruddy with color. Everything else melted around her; were they the only two people on this ship? Was he only speaking to her? It felt like it.

Indiscernibly, Marlene felt a ripple as his crew moved around her, stepping back and away with awkward chuckles, until she was at the forefront of the crowd. He didn’t stop speaking; he didn’t allow her to look away either, and suddenly, the afternoon air is thick between them. She's not sure she could, even if she wanted to. 

“You pledged to be loyal to the sea," there's an authority to his voice; something is to be expected. "Prove it to Her - prove it to me. Kill him,” Blackstar chuckled, and he’s smiling like it’s a joke, his tone even coming off as playful as the tide shifted towards Marlene. It doesn’t feel like one - not by the steel-sharp glint in his eye that seemed to taunt her, a challenge disguised as a test of loyalty. She does not blink.

Marlene thought the first time she was asked to kill a man, it would hit her like a dunk into cold water, icy and painful, the decision to tear a piece of her soul to beseech another’s. When he asks it of her, however, it barely breaks her out of the trance-like reverie that was being the only object of his gaze.

She doesn’t even hear her sword clink out of its sheath; doesn’t hear the man’s desperate pleas for her mercy as she stepped forward dutifully. Killing in cold blood - it wasn’t the epic tale of justice he had told her, another one of his frivolous lies, but she respected its nature all the same. It was them or us, the pirate code, and for the sake of Her? There’s no bitterness on her tongue as she regarded her captain. Marlene doesn’t look away from Blackstar, drowning in the weight of his undivided attention as her blade plunged through the left side of the traitor’s chest, the gasp of life leaving his lips lost on his executioner as something warm splashed across the hilt and onto her hand. His body fell with a heavy thud at her side, her weapon and hand both dripping and slick with his bloody demise.

The ship was shock still in her wake, the violence she had exuded now seeming like an overstep. Had he been kidding? Blackstar hasn’t stopped looking at her, but his expression had changed. His pride in the lofty show he was presenting had softened into something else; stormy eyes smoldering as he took her in, seemingly for the first time, his lips parting being the only show of surprise on his features. Otherwise, he looked like he wanted to absolutely _devour_ her.

Blackstar’s the first to break the silence. “Look at you! Without question! This lass is a pirate, indeed!” he laughed with a clap of his hands, closing the distance between them in only a few strides, the lifeless body at her side forgotten already. His presence was _dizzying, _more than the ocean roaring in her ears as a commanding hand rising to grasp at her chin, to force her to keep their gaze. She had no plan to look away now; she wanted to be consumed by him, in any way he pleased. She could die here, drunk on this moment, on him.

“You are going to be _trouble_. I can already tell, my little star of the sea,” he purred softly, fingertips sliding up to palm her cheek. This close to him, a sunset dancing across the water, his eyes look almost ethereal; sparkling grey reflecting the beauty of Her in all Her glory. It’s her very deepest desire to stay here, forever, preening under such an intoxicating amount of closeness. But she can’t - there was more to this life than simply earning a captain's favor. 

Frustration puckered her brow at his endearment and a snarl hitched across her lips as Marlene jerked her face from his hand, spitting a shrapnel of admonishment as she stepped back. “The next man who lays a hand on me will get it _cut off,_” she growled, hand twitching towards the hip where her sword swayed at her side, and she steeled herself for his reaction. Defiance came easy to the daughters of angry men, but there was a time & a place for everything. She’s expecting a backhand across the face, her father's chosen method of authority, maybe even a blade through the stomach for defying him in front of his crew. Instead, she's almost melting back into him again when he only answered with a delighted smirk, causing one to unfurl across her lips in kind. _Everything about him surprised her._

There’s a rustling around them; the other crew members, shifting their weight restlessly, confused as to what’s unfolded before them. Blackstar realized this as she did, and with a parting look that felt heavy with intention, he stepped away from her. Their conversation was far from over, could feel it stretching in its pause, to be resumed later. Striding confidently towards the center of the ship, he gestured towards his own men, and the ones who’s lives they had spared.

“I’m no man’s king,” he began, slowly beginning to pace in a small circle so that he could look at them all, and address them all in kind. It made her awestruck to watch the way he stole their attentions, able to speak over a crowd of a hundred men with the confidence of a tyrant, but the heart of a free man at sea. “We serve only one, and that is Her Majesty, the ocean. She is the mother of all things - she is the reason we eat well, sleep safely, and sometimes, return to shore. She brought me each member of my crew as a blessing - we return Her blessings in kind with ones of our own. We plunder Her waters for any and all evils who dare take more from Her than what She can give. We kill those who destroy Her, try to change Her, try to control Her. We give back as much as we’re given - we take what others cannot part with. On my ship, you will all be free men. I’m just here to make sure you don’t all kill each other. Join me! Or, of course….. die. I don’t think you’ll need much time to decide.”

Mutiny could break out all around him; these rogues could kill him a hundred times over, and yet, nobody moved. Marlene even forgot to breath for a moment, watching as his mouth broke open with a glinting smile, arms swooping wide as if embracing the ship around them.

“Then tally ho, scallywags! We have treasures to find - we have debts to collect!” A deafening roar overtook the ship, and Marlene can’t help the grin alighting her features; in the middle of it all, is Blackstar, radiating like a supernova, at one with the universe he commanded. He was stunning.

He looked back to her as the crowd began to move towards his ship, the one they’re currently standing on to be plundered and burned. She approached, slower than the others, knowing they weren’t done. Not yet. The last of the men were slipping past as he stepped to her, and Marlene tilted her chin up towards him, rebellion still sparkling in her eyes. She had no trust in the hubris of man, not even this one despite her other desires towards him; she was already mentally preparing for the disgruntled members trapped beneath the deck she would encounter during nighttime hours, thinking their right to a woman outweighed her presence among them as an equal.

He seemingly read her mind. “I've thought about it all day, and I think you should stay with me tonight in my chambers,” Blackstar stated, as if it was an obvious fact, making sure not to touch her though she caught his hand twitching at his side, like he _wanted_ to. ( She derived a great amount of pleasure from this, and that he _didn't_ ). They’re standing dangerously close again; there’s fire on her tongue as she glanced at him through long lashes, barely masquerading the insolence shining in them. She hadn’t gotten this far to become some captain’s harem wench; something as careless as a captain’s preference could get her killed, for a passing night of lust? It had no worth compared to her newfound life. She was beginning to realize that she had to maintain a level of distance from him, for her own safety.

“I will stay wherever I please, Captain, and that will be with the crew I’m a part of,” she bit back, a step away from him for good measure, before she moved to follow the others. Something flutters in her stomach though at the way he looks at her as she moved away. She hoped it was seasickness. 

He doesn’t stop her, regardless; she’s not looking, but he watched her retreating form with amazement as she practically danced back aboard their ship, like she had been on it her entire life, and his heart ached in his chest. He admired her courage, but boldness was easily squashed by the darkness of man. That being said, Blackstar wasn't worried about this spectacular hurricane of a woman making it through the night; he had no doubts in her ability to protect herself from leering eyes and guilty hands. What he was worried about was what the next day's dawn would bring him - something fiery danced in her eyes that he hadn't seen in almost a decade. It was like.... _magic. _Worry set over his features as Blackstar gestured for the crew to begin plundering the conquered vessel, long strides taking him back to his quarters to think about what he was going to do next.


	4. the incident

Blackstar awoke to the bloodcurdling shrieks of a dying man, practically stumbling over himself as he flung from his bedchambers and across the deck of the ship in nothing but his nightwear. He’s not allowed below the deck of the ship, a rule of his own volition for their privacy, but as the screams increased in severity, he doesn’t pause very long before scrambling into its depths towards the crew’s quarters. He burst through the entryway, grey eyes wide as he took in the scene before him.

One of his men lay on the ground, sobbing as he clutched the oozing red stub at the end of his arm against his chest. A few other men stood around the victim, yelling their versions of the truth at him, but Blackstar heard nothing. His eyes followed a trail of dark red towards the woman half hidden behind her bunk, a newly bloodied sword barely tucked behind her body and a severed hand at her feet with a peculiar black burn smoking across it. She must feel his intensity, because her irises flutter up to meet his, and he can see it from across the room. There's a burning intensity set across Marlene's features - her brow drawn taught, brown eyes almost red-hot like embers with her barely contained fury. She looked almost feral; but there was no shame in her expression, and he knows immediately what happened.

“Petey!” he called out brashly, his first mate scampering to his side in seconds, Blackstar regarding him with a smile before pointing at the man on the floor. “Throw this disgusting excuse for a human overboard, would you? The ocean will be pleased to kill another evil.”

“Captain, sir, I-I don’t know if that’s wise. You didn't see it, sir, b-but....That bitch, she _did_ something to him. Sir, h-his hand, it was burned, look —“

“May this be a lesson to the rest of you!” Blackstar pointedly ignored him, turning his body to the rest of the crew, venom dripping from the predatory smile that ripped across his features as he gestured his hand at the scenario before him, winking before he chided, “She _did_ warn you poor bastards, didn't she?” 

Marlene's still half-hidden behind her bunk, but she felt a swell of pride in her chest at his words. Blackstar must've known an incident could occur, because he doesn't seem surprised by the scene around him. Her eyes are downcast again as he addressed the crew, but she caught the movement of his hand out of the corner of her eye. Glancing up, the air is almost knocked out of her lungs by the intensity of Blackstar's stare, palm turning face up in the air before curling his finger twice, no mistaken the ‘come hither’ he demanded. She obeyed silently, stepping over the now unconscious body bleeding all over their quarters, probably dead before he even hits the sea. ( Good riddance. )

They're silent as they move across the ship in tandem, Marlene following on his flank without a word, head down like a child being led to time-out. She had defended herself, and he didn't seem to mind in front of the others, but alone together once again, she can't help but feel like the air has shifted between them. Stepping into his parlor room without much trepidation, there was no hiding the blood on her hands; quite literally, as she tried to fold them into her night slip, the sticky residue smearing all over and sullying the cotton cloth for good.

She hesitated again once over the threshold, watching as he swept across the room to his bar. He pulled down a bottle of spiced rum as he spoke, back to her, words light considering what had just unfolded.

“I’m not mad at you, y’know. I’m actually pleased - Mulciber was exactly who I had been worried about when it came to your sleeping arrangements. It’s for the best he go to Her. She has a taste for dishonorable men.”

Marlene doesn’t make a noise. _So he did know._ He turned back around, filled glasses in hand. Neither of them make a move toward one another, though, an angry shade of confusion keeping her expression tight despite her company. He cocked his head at her, and Marlene felt like he was waiting for her to approach him this time, the sly smile twitching across his lips possibly supporting her theory.

Clad in a stained slip with hilt still in hand, shining in all her dastardly glory, as true as the sea, as violent as a hurricane. Really, he was simply drinking her in. 

“What? Nothing to say for yourself?” and he gestured at her with one of the drinks still in hand, a little sloshing to the floor. ( _What a waste._ )

“I don’t see why I was removed from my quarters, Captain. It seems you agree, my only threat has been taken care of.”

_Poise under pressure, the result of being raised by a man who was always faltering under the weight of his world. Atlas hollered with his frustration, always at his daughter, and so, she learns to weather the storm, with the strength to lay no emotion on her face. She would feed no man’s fury; she wouldn’t dare become a victim nor vessel to the anger she’s seen. She merely absorbs it, for better battles, for future fights, where it would help instead of hurt. The bitterness in her heart is what blinds her from bloodshed._

There’s something twinkling in his eyes, but his lips fold into a frown despite this, and Marlene immediately wished she could do anything in the world to change it. To be blessed by his smile again. To brush her fingertips against his mouth and watch his smirk dance out from underneath her touch. 

“What are you?” he asked, softly, so gentle that Marlene almost lost it , between the slap off the waves echoing off the hull and the tumultously visceral subject of her thoughts. Almost. 

She immediately knew what he was asking. The burns on Mulciber’s hand were no ordinary injury from a blade. Redness rushed into her cheeks as she ducked her head, unable to look at him now, not when she knew that he knew. He hadn’t passed a glance at it around the crew, but he had seen what she done. Caught a glimpse of the truth.

_The guilty hand, reaching underneath flimsy cotton, towards an unspeakable sin. He thinks she’s asleep; as if she could sleep when she knew the danger of a bad man’s desire, having seen more than her share of their darkness in the women they left in their wake, broken and shamed from a man’s power grab for pleasure. She would be no maiden. She knew the power that laid in her veins, vastly unawakened, desperately waiting to lash out at the first sign of danger. When he makes his mistake of a touch, she bolts upright, hand catching the cretin’s wrist, chocolate brown eyes flaring with golds and reds as fire sparked out of her touch. The outline of her palm permanently etched onto his skin before her new blade slices through the night, and the rest of his hand falls to the floor, to be proof of her sins later._

“I’m nobody,” she responded, matching his tone, hoping the evenness of her words would deflect from the fact she hadn’t answered his question.

It didn’t. “That’s not what I asked,” he admonished her immediately, taking a step forward, her rum swishing tantalizingly in her glass still cupped in his palm - it’s nothing compared to the inviting allure of his presence. He seemed to understand. “Sit with me,” it sounds pleasant enough, but there’s no mistaking the command in his tone. She came forward loyally, though caution burdened her steps, perching herself on the cushion beside him and not moving any closer. She can’t look at him, focusing on the amber liquid held in his grasp, but she can feel Blackstar staring at her.

“I want to show you something,” and there’s something else hidden in his words now; the sparkle of mystery she was merciless to. He set their glasses on the table in front of them, and she followed his hands until they’re resting in between their bodies on his lap.

He snapped, and miraculously, a flame lit the tip of his fingers.


	5. the impasse

Bathed in its soft glow, her gaze finally fluttered to his, and she’s glad it did. He’s looking at her with an intensity that earned him a shiver down her spine; did he think she would run, hide, scream? Or had he felt the magic running through her the second they met, the dizzying realization of what she was only masked by the joy of her willingly joining him on his voyage.

She can’t discern whatever’s glinting underneath his depths, but still, she’s entranced; here they sit together, until the flame finally peters out, his concentration shifted elsewhere. It was as if his eyes bore right into her soul; it’s the only way to describe it, grey eyes crackling with the electric thrill of his own darkness finally being matched, hers smoldering with the ashes of who she had been, in favor of who he was allowing her to truly _be_. He had exploded through her life like a cannonball, shattering it to smithereens. It’s in this same vacuum collapse that stars are born from; she thinks that maybe this was only their beginning.

“What are you?” he asked again, a deliberate drawl on his tongue and she could tell that this time, he expected the truth. She had always planned to die with this secret. Knew she would have to, frankly, for there were angry men with crosses and books and prejudices that would burn her alive or drown her with weights to prove whether she was something _worse _than human, her death somehow more evidence than her life. Their hatred for what they couldn't understand snuffing her out. 

She had heard the stories of Blackstar's infamy; the shadow dog who can become a man, the pirate king that can't drown, the immortal captain that can't be killed. What were myths and legends born from if not magic? Had she not felt something deeper than just mischief and desire crackling beneath his skin when their fingers brushed at the pub, the memory a lifetime away from what she knew now. Had she not looked in his eyes and saw her same power reflected in his, two equal forces of nature that somehow, against all odds, found each other. Brought together by the sea, falling into his orbit just another gift from Her, delivered to him when he least expected it.

"I'm like you. But you knew that, didn't you?" she leaned forward, finally grabbing her glass, having earned the liquid reward in her own right. Not even her family had accepted the truth of her heritage; women weren't allowed to have the power she had. It was easier to play into this falsehood than fight it; being underestimated had kept her safe for so long, it had become hard not to find comfort in it.

"Yes, I did," his words are clear as day, and the genuineness ringing from them has Marlene snickering into her drink despite herself, tossing a playfully dirty look his way. Blackstar finally blessed her with his smile as their gazes locked again, his leg sliding so that their knees could touch, and Marlene barely heard him as heat sprang up from where their skin met. "I knew it the moment I looked into your eyes," his voice hushed, a secret he could only find because he knew where to look.

Marlene rested her chin on her barely covered shoulder, rum still wet on her mouth as she dragged her tongue over her bottom lip, and she watched as his eyes clearly followed the movement, darkening hungrily. His attention swept from her lips down the side of her neck, to the cotton straps of her slip falling from her shoulder; in his lap, his hands twitched restlessly. Marlene wondered if this was the first time he was presented with something he wasn't allowed to touch, despite every molecule of his being screaming that she was his to take. Her answering smirk at her effect over him was the only reprieve he'd receive. She _liked_ this control, so stark against the chaos of men like him. She liked that he needed it in the first place, to keep from reaching for her, and liked that he was a man willing to accept her boundaries and strength. In a way, he reminded her of her betrothed; except Blackstar had _asked _her to join his ship, instead of happily accepting a dowry for her life before placing her in a gilded cage. 

The thought of Fabian makes her heart hard in her chest, and she turned her face away, breaking whatever amorous moment Blackstar seemed to think they were about to have. There's a sharp breath exhaled through his nose, the sound whistling with his evident frustration. 

They're quiet for a long moment, glasses in hand, and Marlene's drinking in the glow of their shared company, wondering how she got so bloody _lucky,_ when he finally broke the silence and ruined it all.

"You can't stay here, y'know," he reached forward to set his drink down, and she glanced at him sideways, arguments about to escape her before he held a hand up, signaling her silence before he would continue. She tried not to fume as she let him, noticing that now, he wasn't very keen on meeting her eye as he stood, moving back to his bar to grab the bottle of rum. "I understand why you did it - but you can't lose control, not like that, and not ever again. At least, not when you're here. You'll collapse this ship like kindle if you're not careful. Marlene," and there's no admonishment in his tone. Just the disappointment of her truth as he finally turned, his eyes on hers again, a sadness in them as he spoke, "You're going to have to leave."

"_No,_" her response is swift and vehement, and she can tell he's already shaking his head at her reply - and that he's the Captain, and that he could gut her in an instant, set her body aflame in a blink, and she shouldn't argue with him, but why now? If he had known; if he could feel the power in her, why offer her a place here if he was going to take it from her so easily once she actually proved she could make it here? That she _belonged _here? Whatever resolve, determination she had been disguising herself with over the past day absolutely shattered, an air of urgency befalling her.

She's speaking over him, her volume rising with each word, and the look on his face should absolutely terrify her as he stalked forward again, but it _doesn't. _Nothing matters more than convincing him she can stay as he towered over her, Marlene's cheeks coloring from the increased vicinity. Was it getting hotter in here?

"I can _change, _I can _learn. _Please - you, you're like me! You're the only one who's ever known this about me and you aren't _scared _of me. You could teach me! You could show me how to stop it, how to _control _it, just.... Please, please you don't know. You don't know what it was like for me. Everything ached, all the time - you said so yourself, last night, that She's calling for me! She wants me to stay! She brought me to you, didn't She?" her question fell short of the passion she wanted, the kind Blackstar always exuded, her words slipping closer to pleading and begging than she'd like. She watched as a hardness settled across Blackstar's features. There's a wetness prickling at her eyes, but he doesn't see it because since she began speaking, he seemed to be unable to look at her; staring up and past her at the wall, as if his feigned ignorance would simply quell her fire on its own. _How could he?_ Aggression flared hot in her chest, a burning in her fingertips as brown eyes grew hony gold, the color of wildfire.

She can't stop herself now, the momentum of the moment pushing her to her feet, her glass tossed carelessly forward and forgotten on the table. She's so much smaller than him, and Marlene teetered on her tippy toes as two hands reached up for his face, grabbing his cheeks and forcing his gaze back on to hers. If she was going to make a fool of herself on his behalf, he should have the courtesy to listen. The shock of her boldness is etched deep in his expression, and his hands fly up, each grasping one of her wrists tightly as his bottle of liquor fell to the floor with a resounding clunk. 

This is how they stay for a moment, neither one moving, both their chests heaving with the sudden labor of breathing. His parlor room is a million degrees hotter than before and there's practically no room left between them. He doesn't drag her hands away; in fact, Marlene's shocked to find that trapped beneath his touch, hands against his cheeks, she hadn't _burned _him. His skin remained intact, and all Marlene can feel is _relief _that she hadn't hurt him. A breathless exhale escaped her lips and her touch melted against his cheeks, a tenderness flowing through her that she had never felt before. She's the first to break their silence, the softness in her volume paradoxical against the firmness of her words, unable to help herself as she insisted, her entire being righteous with intention. 

"She brought me to you. Right? What if I'm one of Her gifts? You promised to show me freedom, to show me _everything._ She'd be infuriated you threw me away after all of this - two lives already, three including me, wasted for you to simply flirt with disaster and then walk away? Is that what you are? Just another coward masquerading as a captain?"

She doesn't mean to challenge him, but it's exactly what she does. The curse of a rebel's heart pitted against any type of authority. His demeanor instantly changed; with a strength she'd swoon over later, hd tossed her backwards onto the couch with ease, earning him the few feet of distance he needed to glare at her silently. She had angered or upset him, that much was obvious. She doesn't know how long she sat there, watching fury ebb and flow out of his being before a surly expression unfolded across his features, having reached some kind of conclusion in that mysterious head of his. Whatever it is, she doesn't hear it. He said nothing as he simply padded out of the parlor and into his bed chambers, leaving Marlene pouting at his sudden departure. She was sure that she had sealed her fate. The morning would deliver her back to her small seaside town, a murderous father and band of brothers waiting to cart her back to Fabian, who would surely learn now to keep his betrothed under the tightest lock & key. 

She waited, hoping he'll continue whatever dance they keep enticing each other back into, but he doesn't re-emerge. Hours later, after she had fallen asleep to the soothing rocking of the ship around her, Blackstar would come out with a heavy blanket and cover her freezing limbs. Her ability for aggravation was astounding. Lust was one thing; what he had felt for her, as she shouted him down and faced him without a fear in her heart, no hiding the dazzling flames in her eyes.... No, this wasn't a passing infatuation at all, it seemed. Blackstar was infuriated because there was a truth to her words; he had suspected the magic that lingered in her blood, had seen the coals just waiting to be lit in her soul. Could hear how it ached just from her words, and how deeply he wished to bring her head to his chest, so she could hear a conch shell heart that beat in time with the sea, _exactly_ like her own. What he hadn't suspected was how much it harder it would be to control _himself,_ immediately intoxicated by her darling smile alone, everything else about her further contributing to the whirlwind of emotion she had blindsided him with since their introduction.

He wished he could scoop her up and bring her to bed, if not just to keep her from catching a cold in the night, but hesitated for a moment before deciding to leave her be. The decision he had to make would continue to weigh on him through the night, and that her presence in his bedchamber wouldn't calm the calamity in his chest. Despite them shattering their no-touch boundary hours before, he felt like she wouldn't appreciate this gesture anyway, despite his best intentions. He didn't "fear" her, per say, but he _did_ want to keep both his hands for as long as possible, as it were. 

This woman was more than just trouble; she was dangerous, not just because she was magical either. Because she held the power to sway him that no one but the sea had held before; it was absolutely terrifying, to look at her and realize that after only a day, he would face Hell & high water to keep her by his side. 


	6. the morning

When she awoke the next morning, Marlene was still alone, the soft shreds of morning barely fluttering through the curtains that separated the parlor from Blackstar’s bed chamber. Bleary eyed and half asleep, she readjusted against the cushions, only then noticing the thick blanket laid over top of her in the night. She wanted to be annoyed ( she would’ve been fine, probably ), but instead, Marlene simply sunk deeper into the cloud of warmth blessed upon her by a certain someone. Nestled under it’s comforting embrace, her eyelids remained heavy with her body’s wish for sleep. Still, she noticed the bottle of rum had been moved back to the bar, her clothes and cleaned sword - her only belongings - piled neatly on the table beside her. Her departure from the ship was imminent, it seemed.

With a soft groan, Marlene slipped her head under the blanket, closing her eyes. She wished more than anything she could have changed Blackstar’s mind; if only she hadn’t lost control of herself, maybe not in her quarters but definitely later in the parlor when they were alone, she could have convinced him. She could have asked politely for him to show her how he was able to command the magic to his fingertips, the discipline he showed obviously a trait she lacked. Hidden under the covers, it’s okay for Marlene to allow herself to be heartbroken over her situation. A weaker woman may have even begun crying, but tears weren’t her preferred method of emotional catharsis; instead Marlene felt the air beneath her blanket grow insufferably hot with her irritation, at herself, her captain, and the way her life continued to disappoint her. 

A moment later, and she may have set the whole couch ablaze, with her still on it; she realized this in the nick of time, however, bursting from her cocoon and allowing the much cooler ambient air to slow down her heartbeat. A deep gulping breath was enough to soothe the rest of the heat trying to leave her body. Bare feet kicked out to rest on the scratch of the floorboards, Marlene standing and stretching the sleep from her joints finally. There was no putting off the inevitable, it seemed.

She dressed in silence, thoughts relatively quiet despite the situation. She didn’t like the outcome one bit, but for argument’s sake, she didn’t have much on her side. What was she to do, if her captain didn’t want her? It’s not like he wasn’t a _pirate_ \- if she refused to return home, she could easily be forced to walk the plank, or take a blade to the heart. Her jaw tightened at the thought, and how both scenarios were more appealing to returning home. 

Sadness filled her heart, like a drowning man’s lungs with water, each beat sloshing in her chest. Slowly, she reached down to acquire her blade. It reverberated slightly with the movement, and Marlene watched the tantalizing swish of the metal against gravity. It would be so easy; to plunge the blade where it would do the most damage, kill her quickly, anything a better option than the rage she would inevitably face at the hands of her father, her family... her betrothed...

Someone’s in the parlor room with her, she felt it; she heard the curtains swish, a throat clearing to signal their arrival, but her back is to them and they crept up on her during a passing moment of personal weakness. Without meaning to, they startled her. Without hesitation, Marlene’s spun on her heels, arm shooting straight out to level her blade to the man’s throat.

Petey stared down the length of her blade with bewilderment in his eyes, mouth agape, shock still - a good thing too, as his pulse fluttered violently within the narrow space between metal and skin. 

A beat passes, then another. In the flurry of motion, she hadn’t missed his hand jump to his hilt as well, but his defensive prospects were weak in comparison to her current advantage. Marlene realized - maybe this wasn’t another spectacular example of her control. Her blade toggled back the barest of millimeters, keeping her voice even as she stated without apology, “Do _not_ sneak up on me again.” With that, she sheathed her sword, noticing a sourness between them immediately when he spoke. 

“_Watch your tone_, lass. The Captain wishes to speak with ya,” he spat, the snarl on his features making his nose twitch with his aggravation. The danger now removed from his throat, Petey has no problem glaring at her, mousy features twisted into a silent sneer as he exited, muttering under his breath. _Throw you off the ship, he should. Better, make you walk the plank. That would help crew morale, it would._ That was a fair reaction, Marlene supposed; she was at the bottom of the crew’s hierarchy structure, the newest member and a _woman _to boot. 

Not to mention his sudden brush with death at her hand. She figured that hadn’t won her much favor in the opinion of the first mate, exactly the kind of trouble she shouldn’t be putting herself in. Sighing, Marlene didn’t keep Blackstar waiting, dutifully following the echoing footsteps of Petey in front of her, leading her to top deck. 

She hadn’t slept in much later than she should have, but she definitely missed her rotation swabbing the deck with the rest of the crew; easy to discern by the amount of dirty looks she was catching as she made her way towards the forecastle at the front of the ship. Or maybe they just missed their dear friend Mulciber - if that were the case, she was proud to be the subject of their ire. 

Petey stopped short of the stairs that led up to the forecastle, shifty eyes narrowing at her as she passed wordlessly. His dirty look leads to her chin jutting high, features hardening - the way she learned, poise under pressure. Atlas may have bore the weight of the world, but his daughter had to bear both it & him. 

His back is to her as she climbed the last of the stairs, though he probably doesn’t hear her approach. Here, the roar of the ocean is louder than everywhere else, as the bow sliced through Her waters and allowed them to move forward, the winds snapping just a bit harder. It drowned out the usual bustle of the ship. She hesitated, not wanting to make the same mistake with him that Petey had made with her. It doesn’t matter, he sensed her presence. Wordlessly, his hand rose, two fingers bending with command. She shuddered, her body hungry with desire at the motion alone, but it wasn’t the time or place. She was _mad _at him, wasn’t she? So why was she so excited to be alone with him again?

There’s a smirk on his lips when Marlene reached his side, which only spread wider when Blackstar glanced over and saw the ruddiness coloring her cheeks, her body’s only betrayal amidst a plethora of inappropriate thoughts. 

To her surprise, he said nothing. They simply stood there, the deafening rip of the sea quieting the anxieties that Marlene couldn’t help but have, given their last interaction. Occasionally, she stole a look up at him, hoping to prompt him to speak, but he doesn’t meet her eye. However, he doesn't look angry with her, like he had last night; if anything, it looked like he was purposely keeping an expression of neutrality, which she understood, given her reaction. There was nothing she could do if his mind was made up and so, she enjoyed while she still could.

_It was when she looked back ahead, eyes closing to appreciate the soft mist of seawater against her face, soaking up the warmth of the southern winds, that Blackstar stole looks down at her. And how absolutely radiant she was; long raven curls blowing, exposing the slope of her collar bones underneath clothes that barely fit, skin already sun kissed - she was practically glowing with her happiness. He really didn’t have a fighting chance. If he hadn't already decided to let her stay, he would have right now, unable to part with the disasterous beauty beside him despite how badly he wished he could. She really was his star of the sea - if he loved Her as deeply as he did, why wouldn't he be completely dazzled by Marlene, in all the ways she embodied Her Majesty?_

Marlene doesn’t know how long it is before she opened her eyes, but when she does, her heart lurched as a realization struck her. They had only been a day’s voyage from her home, if that; so why didn’t she see land on the horizon? Only the vast spread of the sea, in all Her beauty and glory. 

Her gaze snapped up to Blackstar’s and this time, she caught his stare, a satisfied glimmer of a grin on his lips. He had been given the delight of watching her recognition unfold. When she realized she wasn’t going back, and _hope _welled in her eyes, a dreamy smile across the face of a woman Blackstar was sure was made of fire and lightening and everything frightening. 

“So where are we going?” Marlene finally broke their silence, as joy filled as it may have been, curiosity getting the best of her as she watched Blackstar cast his gaze ahead, his hand pointing straight out in front of him. 

They’re in the middle of open waters; it is not a very helpful point of reference, to say the least. She’s about to admonish him when she watched the twitch of a smirk threatening to break across his mouth, and suddenly, it’s obvious he’s trying not to laugh. Blackstar’s penchant for playfulness was beginning to get annoying; especially because it had a knack for weakening the protective walls around Marlene’s heart, making it beat faster in her chest. Scoffing, Marlene doesn’t think twice as her shoulder bumped into his side, the movement so familiar that it looked like they had been doing it for years. 

He wanted to tell her where they were going, except her inevitable surprise would be well worth it later, so he kept his mouth shut; nothing but a shared smile on their lips as the ship continued forward, onward into the great unknown as they enjoyed the rest of the morning’s sunlight, side by side. 


End file.
